Kate's Radio Flyer

"Hmm..Whatever."

If you haven't gotten it yet, Ellie's a reading Phenom! I bought $100 worth of books for her at the bookstore. Why? Because she's a reading Phenom and I felt guilty.

I was supposed to pick her up from school, but I had Jae do it (he was working from home so I can take Ellie to the dentist without Kate the Great) since I had to get ready to run errands. She was very upset and refused to forgive me. I gave her a few minutes to chill out and again, I begged at her knees to forgive me and she says, "Hmm..Whatever." Ouch. "I'm still upset with you." I can understand...a promise is a promise and I promised I would never break a promise. The turmoil between mother and daughter begins!

Well, she did great at the dentist again then we headed to the bookstore where I bought her love back. Ha ha ha.

Then we go to Toys R Us (guilt still looming) and she asked us to buy her a scooter. Jae said something to the fact that Ellie expressed if she wanted something, we were suppose to get it for her. Oh no, she didn't! I told her she needed to work for it, that if she completes her reading log for the month, we would gladly get it for her. 360 minutes of reading a month? Actually, she reads at least 30 min. every day so it's a breeze for her, but she just doesn't know it. It's the waiting that kills her. But she'll cherish that scooter even more when she earns it, right? =) I'm still not sure if I've got this parenting thing down...or ever will.

Role Reversal

I usually read books to Ellie as part of her bedtime routine. For the last couple of days, Ellie's insisted that she read to me. I helped her with a few words, but otherwise, she did great...she even wanted to wear her glasses. Success! I soon fell asleep in her room. Then she woke me up in the morning, changed my clothes, brushed my teeth and hair, made me breakfast and walked me to Kindergarten. =)

Did You See?

Did you see my husband's blog? He posted the most beautiful artwork Ellie made at school. Her teacher thought it was worthy enough to hang in the main hallway of her school for everyone to see on "The Road to Success" bulletin board. Having Ellie start school in a private school really paid off. You know, alot of people say not to think too hard about where you place your child in preschool, but I should have known from teaching preschool for many years that it does matter. You're laying a strong foundation for your children to keeep building upon. So far, Ellie's ahead of the game and because of that, her confidence has boosted and her attitude changed. Her teacher's one comment to me, "She's reading already! She's doing great!" I'm glad she's got Jae's brains. The pros and cons of public and private school are becoming evident to me. Each has their strengths. If you're thinking preschool is not a big deal, you're wrong. It is a very very very big deal.

One thing I didnt' see today were those darn springtails. The exterminator came yesterday and sprayed the house. I'm so relieved. I wasn't able to eat or sleep well knowing those bugs were crawling around. I'm so glad we had our house treated. I hate bugs!!!

Springtails

We've got an infestation of springtails. They're these tiny bugs that jump when startled. Apparantly it doesn't do any harm, considered just a pest...they're annoying and gross to look at. Naturally, Ellie learned a new word today..."exterminator". One is coming over tomorrow to spray the house. I can't wait. We'll have to replace the windows soon too...it seems the moldy, rotting trim may be attracting the ugly suckers. Sigh...more money out the window. So much for the new laptop. I'm sad.

I joined facebook yesterday...trying to figure out what the craze is all about. I'm stunned...completely stunned that some people have over 300 friends. It's def. a place to network socially, which I'm not very good at, nor do I crave, but quite an experience.

Trip to Dentist

Ellie's trip to the dentist was a success. She did absolutely beautifully. Her whole experience made me jealous. I wish my parents knew of a pediatric dentist. I think most of us can remember our first dentist trip and found it "uncomfortable" to say the least. I was so afraid she'd need laughing gas for the exam, but the staff were very careful about letting Ellie know exactly what they were going to do. She got her teeth cleaned, x-rayed, and flouride treated. She's got the healthiest mouth on the block.

I'm glad Ellie had a great first experience because we need to go back in a couple of weeks to seal a couple of minute cavaties and some grooves in her molars to prevent further cavaties without any numbing. Hooray! She left with a goodie bag filled with stickers and dental floss and a new toothbrush.

Missing

Today was one of those days when you think the day can't get any worse, it does. Yesterday was also another day I wish not to relive...Kate thought it would be fun to play hide and seek without telling me she was playing hide and seek. For 5 minutes, I thought I'd lost her. I don't know how those parents cope with missing children.

On a less critical note, I am once more computerless. Apparantly, one of the "caps" blew out according to Mr. Fix It AKA Jae Lim. I have no idea what to make of that statement other than the fact that it short-wired. This is becoming much too familiar to me. One more evidence to add to my theory that electronics hate me. Even blogging this post started out shaky. The silver lining is that I see a new laptop upon the horizon. Glorious!

Ellie News: She's got a dental appt. Thursday, her first. This should be fun.

Poetic

2 days down, a hundred and some odd days to go and I still can't believe she's a Kindergartner. She's doing so well in school compared to the uneven experience she had last year.

It's interesting...every morning we walk out the door, the first thing we see are the Morning Glory blossoms. Ellie and I planted those seeds at the end of last school year and I thought how poetic it was that they bloomed like wildfire on the morning of Ellie's first day of school.

AG Outing

Ellie went on an outing to American Girl with her friend Anna. We started off the day watching a live musical about Bitty Bear and Her Family Tree. It was very cute and the girls were in awe throughout the performance. They were lucky enough to get the actor's autographs (pawprints) and pose for a picture with them.




Afterwards, we went to WaterTower for some pizza and chocolate milk and headed back to the store for shopping. Ellie made out well (as usual) at the store. She received matching pajama sets for her doll and for herself from Anna as a birthday gift and I purchased a ballerina outfit for the doll.


Unfortunately, the play date had to end sooner than later for us as Ellie started to run a fever. We left early and came home to find that Kate had a fever as well. Now the three of us are on bedrest and taking lots of tylenol. Perfect timing...Ellie starts school Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Ellie!

A year older, a year stronger, a year taller, a year brighter.

A year more delightful, a year more ferocious, a year more endearing, a year more beautiful.